Households face the threat of tax increases equivalent to an extra three pence
on income tax as the Government struggles to put the brake on its
ever-heavier borrowing, a respected think-tank has warned.

The Green
Budget published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the next
government may have to impose “substantial” rises in taxes after the 2015
election because the hole in the public finances will prove to be too large
to cure entirely through spending cuts. Alternatively, the Government could
raid pensioner benefits for savings or simply borrow more money for longer.